Career Development - OB/GYN

Residency lasts four years. The first half emphasizes obstetrics, while the latter half focuses more on gynecology. After four years of ob/gyn residency, multiple 2-3 year fellowships are available.

 

Sub-specialties include gynecological oncology, reproductive endocrine, infertility, maternal fetal medicine, urogynecology and minimally invasive surgery.

 

Typically, days begin with early morning inpatient rounds, or surgical cases starting at 7:30. Most general ob/gyn practice contains gyn cases in the operating room or obstetric patients on the labor & delivery unit, to half days in the outpatient clinic setting. There are some instances where providers leave their clinics to deliver a patient and then go back to clinic. Most private practice practitioners have one day a week off. Days can range from 8-12 hours, with some time each month spent on call. A typical work week depends on the type of practice.

 

Qualities recognized as important to OB/GYN include:

 

• Good bedside manner and professionalism
• Respectful and caring
• Effective communicator
• Good listener
• Humane with patients
• Flexible with changes in planned activity
• Ability to adapt to emergent settings
• Good medical knowledge and good technical skills
• Empathic, but emotionally capable and strong to handle bad outcomes
• Humble and willing to learn from bad outcomes
• Works well with professional staff
• Researches and publishes

 

There are specific days during the year that are free from T3 students being in the clinic or hospitals. Students can sign up to participate in shadowing through the OB/GYN Interest Group.

 

Students are encouraged to directly email faculty with whom they would like to work.

Additionally, students may want to pursue research opportunities through the DeBakey Scholars Program. This program offers medical students the opportunity to pursue and complete a longitudinal, structured, closely supervised research experience culminating in a capstone presentation prior to graduation. For more information, contact Dr. Derek Pociask. 

The Ob/Gyn Interest Group is an organization that is committed to the promotion of Obstetrics and Gynecology as a future career for Tulane Medical students. Our mission is to stimulate interest in Obstetrics and Gynecology- related health issues among medical students and, by our activities, promote awareness of these issues within the New Orleans community. These activities include sponsoring lunch-hour lectures by professionals in the field of Obstetrics and Gynecology to facilitate interaction between interested students, Ob/Gyn faculty and residents, and general practitioners. Our goal is to establish a shadowing program to allow those students interested in Obstetrics and Gynecology the benefits of experience.

 

Dr. Gabriella Pridjian -- chair

 

Completing internal medicine and surgery clerkships will prepare students well for OB/GYN, although OB/GYN can be completed at any time in the year. Students interested in OB/GYN should take electives in areas that they may not have had a lot of exposure to in their clerkship. These include SICU/MICU electives, NICU electives and community health with a focus on women's health care.

List of recommended elective topics:
MICU

SICU

NICU

Breast radiology

Dermatology

Rheumatology

Pathology

Adolescent gynecology

Pain management

Addiction care

Pyschiatry - focus on women's health, postpartum

 

Summary Statistics (from "Charting Outcomes in the Match 2022")

 

 

 

 

Matched 

Measure                                                                                              (n=962)                                                                                              

 

1.    Mean number of contiguous ranks	12.7
2.    Mean number of distinct specialties ranked	1.0
3.    Mean USMLE Step 1 score	234
4.    Mean USMLE Step 2 score	249
5.    Mean number of research experiences	4.4
6.    Mean number of abstracts, presentations, and publications	6.8
7.    Mean number of work experiences	3.8
8.    Mean number of volunteer experiences	10.2
9.    Percentage who are AOA members	22.0
10. Percentage who graduated from one of the 40 U.S. medical schools with the highest NIH funding	29.5
11. Percentage who have Ph.D. degree	1.5
12. Percentage who have another graduate degree	20.3

Note: Only U.S. MD seniors who gave consent to use their information in research are included.

Sources. NRMP Data Warehouse; Top 40 U.S. medical schools with the highest NIH funding in measure 10 is from the NIH website (http://report.nih.gov/award/index.cfm).

 

 

When deciding upon your top programs and where to apply, take into consideration your competitiveness based on Step scores and current academic performance. Take advantage of career advisors to guide you in your pursuit of that perfect residency to improve your chances of matching. Only applying to Louisiana or the Gulf South may not be your best option.

There is no need for away rotations, but if you desire matching in a specific program or area of the country, they can be helpful.

Be honest and genuine in your personal statement. Please have someone review it and give you feedback.

Acting Internships (AI) in OB/Gyn are encouraged but not required for applying in the field. Students usually participate in the AI to solidify their decision to go into the field or to obtain a LOR. However, if the relationship with the attending is well established, completing the AI for LOR purposes is not necessary. Completing the AI in the Spring is reasonable and may be beneficial as it is closer to starting your internship. 

A letter of recommendation (LOR) will be provided by the OB/Gyn Department Chair, who will assume you successfully completed all of your core clerkships. There's no requirement to have to complete your AI prior to receiving a LOR.

Peak interview months are November and December.

OB/Gyn does not require a research elective, however research experience and publications are looked upon favorably. Additionally, in preparation for your OB/Gyn residency training, the following elective topics are considered intellectually stimulating and beneficial to your future practice.  

List of recommended elective topics:
MICU

SICU

NICU

Breast radiology

Dermatology

Rheumatology

Pathology

Adolescent gynecology

Pain management

Addiction care

Pyschiatry - focus on women's health, postpartum

 

Perform well in all of your clerkships with emphasis on internal medicine and surgery as a marker of how you will excel in OB/GYN.

Standardized tests are part of the medical profession and help predict who will pass their boards; take them seriously and do your best.

See "Special Considerations When Applying for Residency" for hints about scheduling the 4th year. 

 

 

Most applicants apply to 45-76 programs. 

 

AAMC Careers in Medicine

NRMP's Charting Outcomes in the Match 2022

NRMP's Program Director Survey 2020

APGO

ACOG

Tulane’s OB-GYN Department

Dr. Katrina D’Aquin can put you in touch with potential mentors.